05.10.2007 SQUARE ENIX 2007 CONFERENCE REPORT

Before this weekend's Square Enix Party kicks off, they got the 2007 conference report out of the way, bringing us many early hints at what's to come soon.

First up is the Star Ocean series, Yoshinori Yamagishi revealed that a full remake of the first Super Famicom Star Ocean game will be coming to PSP as Star Ocean: First Departure, and a remake of the PS1 Star Ocean game will also come to the PSP as Star Ocean: Second Evolution. Damn. These last few months have been treating the PSP nicely, I might finally have to pick one up. Yoshinori also announced that a Star Ocean 4 is being developed by tri-Ace, although it wasn't said which consoles we might get it on. PS3 is the obvious bet, but it's too early to rule out other platforms.

Then Shinji Hashimoto mentioned that a new Chocobo Dungeon game was in development for the Wii, but nobody cared. A chocobo cosplayer fell down on their face, and the next speaker came to the stage. Next up was the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series, with Akitoshi Kawazu and Toshiyuki Itahana doing the talking. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is coming to the DS, and to put fans' worries at ease, it will be more of a traditional RPG as far as gameplay and level progression goes. However, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers for the Wii will have more of an adventure feel to it, bringing thoughts of Skies of Arcadia to the minds of those who got to see the short video clip.

Last up was The Last Remnant. They showed a few short clips to go along with the pictures we've already seen, and then Hiroshi Takai gave a few early details. No target release date was mentioned, although it was confirmed as a title for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Combat involves large scale battles and the ability to shout out orders combined with simple button combos to control the crowds fighting with you. Some of the scenes and graphics reminded people of Final Fantasy XII, although the timing aspect of gameplay is more along the lines of Shenmue.

It's still too early to tell exactly what kind of combat style The Last Remnant gameplay is shooting for, but it's high on the list of titles I'm looking forward to hearing about this weekend. No new news on Final Fantasy Dissidia yet, although this should be a great week of news for PSP owners. Expect some sporadic posts this weekend as the Party details trickle in from overseas.